


Finally

by andlucyy



Category: The Outsiders (1983), The Outsiders - All Media Types, The Outsiders - S. E. Hinton
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Coming Out, Cute, First Kiss, Gay, Internalized Homophobia, Love Confessions, M/M, Multi, Mutual Pining, yay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:09:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24249331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andlucyy/pseuds/andlucyy
Summary: Soda can't hold back his feelings anymore.
Relationships: Sodapop Curtis/Steve Randle
Comments: 2
Kudos: 70





	Finally

The two boys were sitting in the empty living room silently. One was frowning, his typically bright eyes stormy, while the other watched him with intent and concern. He knew there had to be something wrong, or else Soda would be ricocheting off the walls. He was always a little ball of energy and optimism, which Steve never understood, but appreciated anyway. 

Soda’s fists clenched and relaxed sporadically. He wished they were gripping onto his best friend instead of air. He had imagined it thousands of times before -- the way his fingers would gently comb through Steve’s soft brown curls, then how they would tentatively venture under his shirt and brush against the delicate curve of his waist or drift up and down his back. Soda sighed. Like  _ that  _ would ever happen… 

“You alright, Sodapop? You’ve been quiet.” Steve broke the silence and Soda’s reverie. They’d grown up with constant noise around him, a moment of peace with no noise was rare and Steve knew how much Soda hated silence settling in the middle of a conversation. However, Soda had been quiet for a long time. 

What Soda meant to say was ‘yeah, always!’ with a smile but instead, he sighed defeatedly and frowned. “No.” 

How much longer he could lie for was unknown. The feelings dwelling inside him were threatening to drive him insane. They took the forms of sudden urges to kiss Steve or random moments that his heart ached and he felt like bawling. It took everything in Soda to control himself. 

He remembered the beginning of the very hard seven weeks -- the moment that he knew he was a goner. 

Steve had to go out of state for a week because his grandma died. It made Soda more upset than he expected, and he found himself thinking of Steve more and more often. 

_ But why wouldn’t I think of Steve, my best friend, while he’s away? _ Soda asked himself in an attempt to excuse his thoughts. He always just shrugged it off, but a part of Soda knew that it was different from that. He wasn’t just thinking of Steve when he was overloaded at work, wishing he had an extra hand or when he was bored, wishing that he had someone to muck around with, he was thinking of him when a cute brunette started flirting with him at the counter, and before he went to bed, and every other second of the day. 

Then, Soda remembered how he  _ felt  _ himself falling and did absolutely nothing to stop it. It was so easy, giving into the weird feeling inside his heart, the wanting to be touched and to be kissed and the wanting to touch and to kiss, the thoughts and the fantasies. 

“What’s up?” Steve furrowed his brows. 

Soda kept his eyes glued to his lap. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Steve, it was too hard. 

The moment presented so many opportunities. Soda battled himself internally, indecisive on what to say or do. He could confess his feelings to Steve, but that would start up a whole lot of shit. He could stay silent or lie, but a chance like that was hard to come by. Soda gnawed on the inside of his gum as both scenarios played out in his head.

“Soda?” Steve tried again. 

This time, Soda willed himself to look up. His eyes met with Steve’s, the two brown pools staring at him. They were usually filled with hatred and moxie but looking at Soda that afternoon, they were caring and understanding and soft _.  _

Steve shifted closer to Soda on the sofa. Soda’s heart rate sped up at the proximity of him during the tender moment. It wasn’t uncommon for the pair to be close and touchy, but it was never like that. Never sentimental. 

Soda knew what he needed to do. 

“I like you.” 

He wished he had the courage to look at him. With the familiar mixture of sensations that were his heart being wrenched out of his chest, his stomach being bottomless and the irrevocable urge to bawl at their maximum intensity, all the buried emotions in Soda were coming out. He tried his hardest to suppress the sobs rising in his throat but hot tears still spilt down his cheeks. He held his breath to reduce the noise he made, but when he finally gasped for air, it was horribly loud and hiccupy. 

“Please, don’t hate me,” Soda begged. He tried so hard to stop crying that his shoulders began shaking. He already despised himself for feeling that way. He was so ashamed, so grossed out. The mere thoughts of him and Steve being together felt blasphemous. 

Daringly, Soda allowed a stolen glance at the boy next to him. A shocked but otherwise unreadable expression was all he saw. He knew what was going to happen. It would contort into a look of contempt and disgust, then he would get socked in the jaw. 

The number of tears that he was shedding became the least of Soda’s problems. 

He heard Steve take a deep breath.  _ Here it comes, _ he thought, closing his eyes and biting his lip. The impending doom had finally arrived. Soda had tried so hard not to let his feelings get the better of him, at least he lasted that long. 

It felt like a million years before the sound of a sigh broke the tension. Soda slowly opened his eyes back up, tilting his head so he could see Steve and then getting caught in his gaze. Steve pursed his lips and maintained eye contact with Soda while shifting in his seat.

“I…” Steve began softly, making Soda’s heart accelerate. He was slightly hopeful for a second before he shot it down.  _ No, Steve would never. He’s the least gay person I know, _ Soda thought to himself. “I like you too,” Steve finally admitted in a whisper.

Soda couldn’t believe it. Steve Randle liked boys, liked  _ him _ . A floating feeling flooded through his body and he finally let go of the breath he felt like he’d been holding for months. He found two thousand times lighter. A wide, toothy smile spread across Soda’s face, which Steve returned. 

There was no more playing it cool because the boy he loved like him back, at least a little bit!

Steve scooched to Soda. He gingerly placed one of his hands on top of Soda’s and let the other one ghost his hot, flushed cheek. Finally, he could touch the carved-marble-like skin that he dreamed about. The mood changed almost instantly. 

With Steve touching him that way and the too-intense feelings surging through him, something in Soda’s brain short-circuited. Before he knew what he was doing, he was leaning forward, bringing his lips closer to Steve’s. When Soda became aware of his actions, he stopped, hovering over Steve’s slightly parted, unsuspecting mouth. He could feel the warmth radiating off Steve. 

“Can… can I kiss you?” Soda asked, alternating between looking into Steve’s eyes and gazing longingly at his lips. 

“Yes. God, yes,” Steve replied airily. 

Nothing more was needed for the boys. At the same time, they pressed their lips together. The impact of the collision would cause more collateral damage than they cared to admit but at that moment, they didn’t give two shits. The rest of the universe melted away so it was just the two of them, holding onto each other and never wanting to let go. 


End file.
